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We Have To Focus On How Do We Ensure The Economy Works For Everybody, And Not Just A Few.
-Barack Obama
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We Have To Focus

Barack Obama
...
We Have To Focus On How Do We Ensure The Economy Works For Everybody, And Not Just A Few.

Understanding the Quote: "we have to focus on how do we ensure the economy works..."

This quote by Barack Obama reflects deeply on the theme of focus. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Focus, Economy, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Barack Obama interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Barack Obama

Barack Obama is celebrated for insightful thoughts on focus and economy. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Focus
Economy
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Diversity
Messengers
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He Man
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Reflection
Self
Before We Get Too Depressed About The State Of Our Politics, Let's Remember Our History ..... Many Forms Of Government Have Been Tried, And Will Be Tried In This World Of Sin And Woe. What Is Amazing, Is That Despite All The Conflict, Our Experiment In Democracy Has Worked Better Than Any Form Of Government On Earth
Witty
Democracies Have
Government
There's Something About The American Spirit -– Inherent In The American Spirit -- We Don't Hang On To The Past. We Always Move Forward.... We Are Going To Leave Something Better For Our Children –- Not Just Here In The United States, But All Around The World.
Children
Moving
Past
I Know That The Politics Around Trade Can Be Very Difficult - Especially In An Election Year.
Years
Election
Difficult
We Are Committed To A World In Which We Keep America Safe, But We Recognize That Our Power Doesn't Just Flow From Our Extraordinary Military But Also Flows From The Strength In Our Ideals And Our Principles And Our Values.
Military
America
Principles
I'm Told There's A Saying From Those Ancient Times, Kalos Kai Agathos, When Someone Or Something Is Good And Beautiful On The Outside, But Is Also Good And Noble On The Inside In Terms Of Character And In Terms Of Purpose. And I Think That's A Fine Description Of The Friendship That Exists Between The Greek People And The American People.
Beautiful
Character
Thinking
And We Remember The End Of Our Combat Mission And The Emergence Of A New Dawn - The Precision Of Our Efforts Against Al Qaeda In Iraq, The Professionalism Of The Training Of Iraqi Security Forces, And The Steady Drawdown Of Our Forces. In Handing Over Responsibility To The Iraqis, You Preserved The Gains Of The Last Four Years And Made This Day Possible.
War
Responsibility
Years
You Got Into These Small Towns In Pennsylvania And, Like A Lot Of Small Towns In The Midwest, The Jobs Have Been Gone Now For 25 Years And Nothing's Replaced Them. And They Fell Through The Clinton Administration, And The Bush Administration, And Each Successive Administration Has Said That Somehow These Communities Are Gonna Regenerate And They Have Not. And It's Not Surprising Then They Get Bitter, They Cling To Guns Or Religion Or Antipathy To People Who Aren't Like Them Or Anti-immigrant Sentiment Or Anti-trade Sentiment As A Way To Explain Their Frustrations.
Jobs
Frustration
Gun
I'll Be The First Us President To Not Only Visit Kenya And Ethiopia, But Also To Address The Continent As A Whole, Building Off The African Summit That We Did Here Which Was Historic And Has, I Think, Deepened The Kinds Of Already Strong Relationships That We Have Across The Continent.
Strong
Thinking
President
We Do Need To Make Sure That We Have An Orderly, Lawful Immigration Process.
Immigration
Needs
Process
Let Us Remember That We Can Do These Things Not Just Because Of Wealth Or Power, But Because Of Who We Are: One Nation Under God, Indivisible, With Liberty And Justice For All.
Patriotic
Justice For All
Liberty
Whether Our Forebears Were Strangers Who Crossed The Atlantic Or The Pacific Or The Rio Grande, We Are Here Only Because This Country Welcomed Them In And Taught Them That To Be An American Is About Something More Than What We Look Like, Or What Our Last Names Are, Or How We Worship.
Country
Names
Looks
One Of The Things That You Learn, Having Been In This [president's] Office For Four Years, Is The Old Adage Of Abraham Lincoln's. That With Public Opinion There's Nothing You Can't Do And Without Public Opinion There's Very Little You Can Get Done.
Years
Office
President
I'm Going To Tell The American People What I Believe Will Make This Country Great.
Country
Believe
People
Go Back To - My First Campaign For The United States Senate. I Got A Bunch Of People Now Talking About Inequality. But Back Then They Sure Weren't. Back Then, Folks Were Saying I Was Preaching Class Warfare. Now It's Suddenly Their Campaign Platform.
Talking
Class
People
I Would Meet Directly With The Leadership In Iran.
Iran
Diplomacy
It Is This World, A World Where Cruise Ships Throw Away More Food In A Day Than Most Residents Of Port-au-prince See In A Year, Where White Folks' Greed Runs A World In Need, Apartheid In One Hemisphere, Apathy In Another Hemisphere...that's The World! On Which Hope Sits!
Running
Years
White
Every Life Must Be Given The Chance To Realize Its Full Potential - That Every Life Matters.
Full Potential
Matter
Chance
I Think That Where I've Gotten Frustrated During The Course Of My Presidency Has Never Been Because I Was Getting Pushed Too Hard By Activists To See The Justness Of A Cause Or The Essence Of An Issue.
Thinking
Essence
Issues
I Think Ultimately Is, Donald Trump Is Pragmatic.
Thinking
Trump
Pragmatic
If You Only Think About Yourself - How Much Money Can I Make, What Can I Buy, How Nice Is My House, What Kind Of Fancy Car Do I Have? - Over The Long Term, I Think, You Get Bored. I Think Your Life Becomes Diminished. The Way To Live A Full Life Is To Think: What Can I Do For Others?
Nice
Thinking
Fancy Cars
I Don't Care Whether You're Driving A Hybrid Or An Suv. If You're Headed For A Cliff, You Have To Change Direction. That's What The American People Called For In November, And That's What We Intend To Deliver.
Change
People
Care
... The Fact Is It Didn't Happen In The First Month, The First Six Weeks, In A Way That Was At All Acceptable. And Since I'm In Charge, Obviously, We Screwed It Up.
Care
Way
Months
I've Been To 57 States.
Politics
States
When I Was A Kid, I Inhaled. Frequently. That Was The Point.
Weed
Kids
Marijuana
Part Of The Reason That Our Politics Seems So Tough Right Now And Facts And Science And Argument Does Not Seem To Be Winning The Day All The Time Is Because We're Hardwired Not To Always Think Clearly When We're Scared. And The Country's Scared.
Country
Winning
Thinking
If It's On Facebook, It All Looks The Same.
Looks
Ifs
I Think A Lot Of Teachers Want To Talk About How To Continually Improve Performance.
Teacher
Thinking
Want
As We Look Forward To The New Year, Let's Resolve To Recommit Ourselves To The Values We Share.
New Year
Years
Looks
We Reject The Use Of National Security Letters To Spy On Citizens Who Are Not Suspected Of A Crime.
Spy
Citizens
Use
I Want To Control Our Own Energy By Developing Oil And Natural Gas But Also The Energy Sources Of The Future.
Oil
Energy
Want
I Do Think That There Is A Big Difference Between Family Farms And Agri-business, And One Of The Distressing Things That I Think Has Occurred Is With Consolidation Of Farm Lands. You've Seen Large Agri-businesses Benefit From Enormous Profits From Existing Farm Programs, And I Think We Should Be Focusing Most Of Those Programs On Those Family Farmers.
Thinking
Land
Differences
No Job In America Should Go Unfilled Because Somebody Doesn't Have The Right Skills To Get That Job, Nobody. So, If There's A Job Open, We Should Train Those Folks Right Away So That They Can Do The Job.
Train
That Is The Difference We Make In The World. And Our Own Safety, Our Own Security, Depends Upon Our Willingness To Do What It Takes To Defend This Nation And Uphold The Values That We Stand For - Timeless Ideals That Will Endure Long After Those Who Offer Only Hate And Destruction Have Been Vanquished From The Earth.
Hate
Islamic
Differences
Going Back To The Discussion We Were Having About Immigration Reform, Some Of The Most Challenging Discussions I've Had Are With Activists Who Essentially Would Argue That Any Immigrant From Central America, Let's Say, Who Gets Here To This Country Should Be Allowed To Stay Because Their Country Is Dangerous, Their Country Is Poor, And The Opportunities For That Mom And That Kid Are Much Greater Here, And Why Would You Send Them Back?
Mom
Country
Kids
We All Remember Abraham Lincoln As The Leader Who Saved Our Union. Founder Of The Republican Party.
Party
Leader
Unions
Few Artists Have Influenced The Sound And Trajectory Of Popular Music More Distinctly, Or Touched Quite So Many People With Their Talent. A Strong Spirit Transcends Rules,' Prince Once Said - And Nobody's Spirit Was Stronger, Bolder, Or More Creative. Our Thoughts And Prayers Are With His Family, His Band, And All Who Loved Him.
Strong
Prayer
Artist
Did I Recognize That There Was Anger Or Frustration In The American Population? Of Course I Did. First Of All, We Had To Fight Back From The Worst Recession Since The Great Depression, And I Can Guarantee You If Your Housing Values Have Crashed And You've Lost Most Of Your Pension And You've Lost Your Job, You're Going To Be Pretty Angry.
Jobs
Fighting
Frustration
What I Would Advise, What I Advised Before The Election, And What I Will Continue To Advise After The Election, Is That Elections Matter; Voting Matters; Organizing Matters; Being Informed On The Issues Matter.
Issues
Voting
Matter
We Don't Have This Huge Footprint, We Are Less Likely To Be Targeted As, You Know, Occupiers [in Afghanistan And Iraq].
Iraq
Footprint
Afghanistan
Community Colleges Play An Important Role In Helping People Transition Between Careers By Providing The Retooling They Need To Take On A New Career.
Powerful
College
Play
Us Intelligence Agencies Will Only Use Such Data To Meet Specific Security Requirements: Counterintelligence, Counterterrorism, Counterproliferation, Cybersecurity, Force Protection For Our Troops And Allies, And Combating Transnational Crime, Including Sanctions Evasion.
Agency
Nsa
Data
You Didn't Build That. Somebody Else Made That Happen.
Made
Unbelievable
Presidential Election
My Job Is Exhilarating. It's Challenging. I Find That The Governance Part Of It, The Decision Making Part Of It - Actually Comes - Comes Pretty Naturally. I Think I've Got A Great Team. I Think We're Making Good Decisions. The The Hardest Thing About The Job Is Staying Focused. Because There's So Many Demands And Decisions That Are Pressed Upon You.
Team
Thinking
Decision
We Do Have To Balance This Issue Of Privacy And Security. Those Who Pretend That There's No Balance That Has To Be Struck And Think We Can Take A 100-percent Absolutist Approach To Protecting Privacy Don't Recognize That Governments Are Going To Be Under An Enormous Burden To Prevent The Kinds Of Terrorist Acts That Not Only Harm Individuals, But Also Can Distort Our Society And Our Politics In Very Dangerous Ways.
Thinking
Government
Issues
...as Parents, We Have To Find The Time And The Energy To Step In And Help Our Children Love Reading. We Can Read To Them, Talk To Them About What They're Reading, And Make Time For This By Turning Off The Television Set Ourselves. Libraries Are A Critical Tool To Help Parents Do This.
Children
Reading
Kids
I Don't Want My Generals Or My Defense Secretary Or My National-security Team To Ever Feel Deploying Weapons To Kill People As Routine Or Abstract, Even If The Targets Are Bad People.
Team
People
Defense
I Don't Believe People Should To Be Able To Own Guns.
Believe
Gun
People
It's Harder To End A War Than Begin One. Indeed, Everything That American Troops Have Done In Iraq -- All The Fighting And All The Dying, The Bleeding And The Building, And The Training And The Partnering -- All Of It Has Led To This Moment Of Success. Now, Iraq Is Not A Perfect Place. It Has Many Challenges Ahead. But We're Leaving Behind A Sovereign, Stable And Self-reliant Iraq, With A Representative Government That Was Elected By Its People. We're Building A New Partnership Between Our Nations.
War
Fighting
Self
I Do Believe, Separate And Apart From Any Particular Election Or Movement, That We Are Going To Have To Guard Against A Rise In A Crude Sort Of Nationalism Or Ethnic Identity Or Tribalism That Is Built Around An Us And A Them.
Believe
Identity
Movement
Even As We Do All That's Necessary To Ensure Israel's Security, Even As We Are Clear-eyed About The Difficult Challenges Before Us, And Even As We Pledge To Stand By Israel Through Whatever Tough Days Lie Ahead, I Hope We Do Not Give Up On That Vision Of Peace. For If History Teaches Us Anything, If The Story Of Israel Teaches Us Anything, It Is That With Courage And Resolve, Progress Is Possible. Peace Is Possible.
Giving Up
Lying
Israel
Our Combat Mission Is Ending, But Our Commitment To Iraq's Future Is Not.
Commitment
Iraq
Missions
Some People In D.c. Talk About Me Like A Dog.
Dog
People
With The Changing Economy, No One Has Lifetime Employment. But Community Colleges Provide Lifetime Employability.
College
Community
Employment
The Biggest Threat That We Face Right Now Is Not A Nuclear Missile Coming Over The Skies. It's In A Suitcase. This Is Why The Issue Of Nuclear Proliferation Is So Important. It Is The - The Biggest Threat To The United States Is A Terrorist Getting Their Hands On Nuclear Weapons.
Important
Threat
Terrorist
We Have To Ensure Free And Open Exchange Of Information. That Starts With An Open Internet. I Will Take A Backseat To No One In My Commitment To Network Neutrality. Because Once Providers Start To Privilege Some Applications Or Websites Over Others Then The Smaller Voices Get Squeezed Out And We All Lose. The Internet Is Perhaps The Most Open Network In History, And We Have To Keep It That Way.
Commitment
Voice
Neutrality
Some People Only Speak Of Freedom Of Speech While They're Out Of Power. Once They're In Power, They're Ruthless In Suppressing The Rights Of Others.
Rights
People
Freedom Of Speech
Lincoln, They Used To Talk About Him Almost As Bad As They Talk About Me. So Democracy Has Never Been For The Faint Of Heart.
Heart
Democracies Have
Democracy
I Think When You Spread The Wealth Around It's Good For Everybody.
Money
Powerful
Stupid
The Balkanization Of The Media Means That Nobody Is Having A Single Conversation With A Single Set Of Agreed-upon Facts And Assumptions The Way You Had As Recently As The 90s.
Mean
Media
Way
And I Do Not Want, And I Will Not Accept, A Deal In Which I Am Asked To Do Nothing, In Fact, I'm Able To Keep Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars In Additional Income That I Don't Need, While A Parent Out There Who Is Struggling To Figure Out How To Send Their Kid To College Suddenly Finds That They've Got A Couple Thousand Dollars Less In Grants Or Student Loans.
Couple
Struggle
Kids
My Tax Plan Will Cut Taxes For 95 Percent Of Workers, Because We Need To Put Money Back Into The Pockets Of Struggling Middle-class Families And Close The Egregious Tax Loopholes That Have Exploded Over The Last Eight Years. My Plan Eliminates Capital Gains Taxes Entirely For The Small Businesses And Start-ups That Are The Backbone Of Our Economy, As Opposed To John Mccain's Plan, Which Would Tax These Businesses. John Mccain Is Running To Serve Out A Third Bush Term. But The Truth Is, When It Comes To Taxes, That's Not Being Fair To George Bush.
Running
Struggle
Cutting
I Have Seen, The Desperation And Disorder Of The Powerless: How It Twists The Lives Of Children On The Streets Of Jakarta Or Nairobi In Much The Same Way As It Does The Lives Of Children On Chicago 's South Side.
Children
Twists
Chicago
There Are Places I Want To Visit Where If I'm Wearing A Baseball Cap And Some Sunglasses I Think I Can Get Away With And Mingle In A Crowd.
Baseball
Thinking
Crowds
I Was Never Great, But I Was A Good [basketball] Player, And I Could Play Seriously. Now I'm Like One Of These Old Guys Who's Running Around, And The Guys I Play With, Who Are All A Lot Younger, They Sort Of Pity Me And Sympathize With Me. They Tolerate Me, But We All Know That I'm The Weak Link On The Court. And I Don't Like Being The Weak Link.
Running
Player
Guy
I Am Willing To Work With Anybody Who Wants To Have A Serious Conversation About Our Fiscal Future. We're Not Going To Do This Under The Threat Of Blowing Up The Entire Economy. I Will Not Negotiate Over Congress' Responsibility To Pay The Bills That Have Already Been Racked Up. I Don't Know How I Can Be More Clear About This.
Responsibility
Want
Pay
Unless You're One Of The First Americans, A Native American, You Came From Someplace Else. Somebody Brought You.
Native American
Firsts
Native
The Presidency Has A Funny Way Of Making A Person Feel The Need To Pray.
Needs
Way
Praying
Nobody Cares How Tough Your Upbringing Was. Nobody Cares If You Suffered Some Discrimination.
Care
Tough
Discrimination
International Inspectors Are On The Ground And Iran Is Being Subjected To The Most Comprehensive, Intrusive Inspection Regime Ever Negotiated To Monitor A Nuclear Program. Inspectors Will Monitor Iran's Key Nuclear Facilities 24 Hours A Day, 365 Days A Year. For Decades To Come, Inspectors Will Have Access To Iran's Entire Nuclear Supply Chain. In Other Words, If Iran Tries To Cheat - If They Try To Find Build A Bomb Covertly, We Will Catch Them.
Keys
Iran
Years
Donald Trump Is Temperamentally Unfit.
In The Course Of A Healthy Debate, We Prioritize Different Goals, And The Different Means Of Reaching Them. But Without Some Common Baseline Of Facts, Without A Willingness To Admit New Information And Concede That Your Opponent Might Be Making A Fair Point, And That Science And Reason Matter - Then We're Going To Keep Talking Past Each Other, And We'll Make Common Ground And Compromise Impossible.
Mean
Past
Goal
I Don't Think I Underestimated [vladimir Putin], But I Think That I Underestimated The Degree To Which, In This New Information Age, It Is Possible For Misinformation For Cyber Hacking And So Forth To Have An Impact On Our Open Societies, Our Open Systems, To Insinuate Themselves Into Our Democratic Practices In Ways That I Think Are Accelerating.
Thinking
Practice
Impact
The Amount Of Interaction, The Amount Of Understanding That Exists In Your Generation Among People Of Different Races And Different Creeds And Different Colors Is Unprecedented. And By The Way, That Goes - That Cuts Across Party Lines, That Cuts Across Partisan Lines.
Party
Cutting
Race
Nobody Is Listening To Your Telephone Calls.
Nsa
Listening
Surveillance
I Promised To Bring Change To Washington. The Underlying Reason For The Economic Mess We're In Has Been Building For Years. It's A Fundamental Imbalance In Which The Top 1 Percent Now Gets Almost A Quarter Of All National Income. We Haven't Seen Income And Wealth This Concentrated Since The Late Nineteen Twenties, And We All Know What Happened Then - The Great Depression. We'll Never Really Get Out Of The Gravitational Pull Of The Great Recession Until We Fix This Basic Problem.
Great Depression
Problem
Wealth
The Cyber World Is Sort Of The Wild, Wild West, And To Some Degree, We're Asked To Be The Sheriff.
Degrees
World
West
My Hope And Expectation Is That Regardless Of What Donald Trump Said During The Campaign, He's Going To Have To Look Carefully At The Realities When He Moves Forward.
Moving
Reality
Expectations
Nowhere Is It Ordained That History Moves In A Straight Line.
Moving
History
Lines
The Emotions Between The Races Could Never Be Pure; Even Love Was Tarnished By The Desire To Find In The Other Some Element That Was Missing In Ourselves. Whether We Sought Out Our Demons Or Salvation, The Other Race Would Always Remain Just That: Menacing, Alien, And Apart.
Reflection
Race
Missing
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